Sunflowers (Tris and Tobias)
by imfallingforyoureyes102
Summary: "What's your favorite flower?" "What?" "Your favorite flower?" "Why?" (Or, Tobias is having a crap day at the office and it's Tris and a bouquet of sunflowers that let him know everything is going to be alright).


**Once again in my lil Arrow like Divergent AU! Hope you enjoy! Again, I apologize for the errors (if there are any, which I'm sure there will be). I **_**should**_** be doing physiology and physics and a shit ton of other things right now, but here I am, once again. :/**

**Please please please let me know what you think! It motivates me more than you know!**

**Love you all!**

Tobias lets out a long huff, the rumble in his throat boarding a growl as he drags a hand down his face. He's exhausted – eyes droopy, legs weary, bone crippling kind of tired that's been building up for days – and for the first time in _months_ he feels like maybe he'll actually be able to sleep without the fear of nightmares. Tobias leans heavily against the bar, shoulders hunching as he pushes off against it in the next instant in an agitated dance. He's about to stalk off – about to take a lap or two around the perimeter of the Gala because he's _so damn antsy_ – but then Tris's staring up at him with wide and innocent eyes and her fuchsia gown is bringing out the flush in her cheeks and -,

"What's your favorite flower?"

Tobias blinks.

"What?"

"Your favorite flower?"

"Why?" Tobias askes in a clipped tone, voice coming out a bit sharper than he means to. Tris's eyes fall to his chest, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly as she draws her bottom lip between her teeth. She looks a bit put out and the way that Tobias is staring at her – so intently and insistently – is easily mistaken as annoyance.

He's not annoyed, though – he could never be with Tris. Not really.

He's just confused and he can't help the wave of adoration that floods his body as he watches her shoulders pull into a small shrug, the corners of her lips tilting up into a slight, understanding smile. She's turning away, hand reaching out to stuff another crab cake in her mouth and –

"Sunflowers."

Tris pauses.

Tobias's eyes are a bit wider than normal, his mind racing a mile a minute because _where did that come from? _He doesn't know what made him say it – doesn't know why those flowers were the first thing that popped into his head when he's been a rose giving kind of guy his whole life.

But then Tris gives him a cheeky smile, a satisfied murmur of agreement muffled from the food in her mouth, and Tobias realizes he'd say anything and everything to keep the spark of light he sees dancing around in her eyes.

It's only a few hours later when Tris's pulling out her phone to track down their suspect that he notices the smattering of sunflowers decorating her phone case.

That was weeks ago.

Tobias can barely remember that night – can barely remember the endless chase he had gone on after their suspect that night because it had ended with a bullet in his shoulder and a fist in his face. It's only as he's rounding the corner to go to his office one day that the faint memory is suddenly brought back full force.

It's been a shit day. He can feel the fatigue saddled deep in his bones – can feel the welts and bruises under his dress shirt from the night before, when he had nearly been pitched off of a building. Jeanine Matthews has moved up higher in Tobias's mental most hated list (she's at the top of Tris's), Amar is heckling him about their plans to conduct recon in South Asia, Uriah won't stop bugging him about his where (or if) he stands with Nita, his back from the dead mother is ten times pissed at him for skipping out on yet another important meeting, and Eric has been so far up his ass that Tobias's seconds away from sticking himself with one of the sedatives in the Compound's labs just to experience the beauty of unconsciousness for a few minutes.

And that's just covering the billionaire playboy aspect of his life. Tobias squeezes his eyes shut and lets out an aggravated huff when he remembers that there's a Croatian Gang stealing military grade weapons in the south part of the city.

Tobias stalks across the tiled floors, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly in a futile attempt to stave off the migraine that's clawing its way into his head. He keeps his head down and eyes lowered the entire way to his office and pushes on the glass doors with a little too much force.

It's only when he's a few feet from his desk that he see's them.

_Flowers. _

A giant, beaming bouquet of bright, yellow sunflowers.

Tobias is turning to Tris's desk in an instant, his heart already failing to beat regularly because _who am I supposed to be giving flowers to? Did I forget someone's birthday? _

Tris's desk is vacant – her chair empty – and Tobias turns back to the bouquet, eyes searching for some sort of card. He thumbs at the delicate petals, and the vibrant yellow against his tanned skin suddenly brings back the ghosts of the conversation from long ago.

Tobias jumps slightly when his office door opens and he turns to see Tris strolling in with a half-eaten granola bar trapped between her lips. Her eyes are glued to her tablet, only flashing up to meet his as she extends her arm to hand him a folder. A smile falls across her features but is gone in an instant when he sees the expression on his face.

"What?"

Tobias doesn't say anything. He tilts his head slightly as he presses his lips together before glancing back at the flowers and somehow, they both.

"You seemed down," Tris says, her voice a careful balance between matter-of-fact and a whisper. "Flowers always make me happy, I thought you might -,"

But she's cut off quickly and Tobias's doing something he's never done in his whole life – at least not with her – and it takes them both a second to realize that his arms are wrapped tightly around her and his chin is resting on her head and _oh, they're hugging. _

"Thank you."

Tobias's words come out in a hoarse whisper, and the shaky breath he lets out after startles the both of them.

He pulls back then, his eyes finding Tris's own, and the wave of affection that floods through his body hits him so hard that he has to place a hand on his desk to steady himself. Tobias doesn't have tears in his eyes but they're also definitely not dry and he wants to say something – _God_, he wants to say everything_. _

_Thank you for being here._

_Thank you for knowing me. _

_Thank you for stepping out of the light to stand with me in the dark. _

_Thank you for _being _my light. _

He can't though, and sometimes he thinks he'll never be able to because of who he is. And that thought alone makes his chest ache in a way far worse than a gunshot. He shakes it away, instead taking in the sparkle in Tris's eyes and the scrunch of her nose as she offers him a timid smile.

There are a million things that Tobias could have done differently in his past to have avoided all the tragedy that has been engraved into his being.

He wouldn't change a thing, though. Not for the world. Because every bullet wound, every day trapped in the upstairs closet, every torturous minute on each mission, every time he had wished for death - every crippling heartache and broken bone and sorrowful night has led him to this.

_To Tris. _

He wants to tell her all of that, but his chest is too tight and his lips struggle to find the words, so he settles for pulling her hand into his and giving it a tight squeeze.

They stand like that, gazes locked and unwavering, and it's only the sharp tell-tale noise of heels against tile that has them both pulling away as Uriah comes to a stop against the doorframe. He looks between the two of them, eyebrow raised in question, before he shakes her head and nods towards Tobias.

"Still on for lunch, Asswipe?"

Tobias nods, giving Tris's forearm a squeeze. She smiles up at him again – the smile that Tobias has come to associate with warmth and comfort and_ home. _He thumbs at the petals of the sunflowers one more time before striding over to Uriah.

(If there's a bit more pep in his step, Tris doesn't say anything).

It's only when the two honorary siblings are in the elevator that Uriah turns to the taller man.

"Who is she to you? Really?

"A friend."

"You got your friend flowers?"

Tobias turns to Uriah, and for a second the younger Man is startled by how soft and open and amazed Tobias's face is – how much he looks like the Tobias before the years of abuse and neglect and violence.

He smiles then, a real, genuine, full teeth on display smile that Uriah can't remember ever seeing in his life.

"No," he says softly, his voice a mixture between wonder and disbelief. "She got them for me."

**Pleaseeee let me know what you think! Reviews feed my soul and motivate me so so so much! Love you all and thanks for the constant support!**


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